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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Ten Things of Thankful: April 2014 Conference Edition

It's time for another Ten Things of Thankful post, and I am so excited! Before I started my blog, I thought long and hard about what to call it. I wanted a name that would not change with circumstance, but something that would be long-lasting and would serve me not only then, but in the future. I decided upon the affirming, "Thankful Me." It served as a reminder to myself not to complain--at least not too much, and particularly not online. I, though non-tattooed, essentially branded myself. I am Thankful. In declaring myself as Thankful, I did not want to come across as unsympathetic to those who were experiencing sorrows and pain. I've been in situations where I just needed someone to listen to my problems, without telling me that things aren't that bad (even though compared to the problems of others, they really weren't that bad). I certainly didn't want my blog to portray an attitude of, "Well, too bad for you, but listen to how great my life is!"

I heard something recently that perfectly captured what I was going for when I named this blog. I imagine that it will ring true for anyone who has participated in the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop (which was not started by me, but was by Lizzi, and for which I am very thankful to be a co-host.) Please take a minute to watch this:

The first talk given last Sunday morning at the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was that wonderful address on gratitude. The entire talk was longer, of course, and if you are so inclined, you can watch it here. I (Scroll down to Sunday morning and click on the first talk, the one by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Conference talks are translated into over 80 languages, so if you prefer another language, just go to the top of the page and click on the tab that says "English" to select a different language. If your preferred language isn't available yet, check back in a day or two. Translation can take up to 2 weeks to finish.)I'm thankful this week for the many bits of wisdom I gleaned from watching conference. Here are just a few examples:

The rest of my thankful list this week (and the reason why I'm so late in posting this) is comprised of thanks for John, and the chance we had to have a getaway to San Diego this weekend. Friday we visited the ranunculus flower fields in Carlsbad, toured the Craftsmanship Museum, and went to the San Diego temple. Saturday we went whale watching, browsed Architectural Salvage and antique stores, and wandered through Old Town. Today we attended church then made our way home, stopping in La Jolla to view the sea lions. All in all, we had a very relaxing trip. I'm forever thankful for the wonderful man I married.

We didn't find whales, but we did see lots of dolphins.

We also spotted two mola mola fish.

This is not a model. This is a fully-functional miniature car! Amazing, isn't it?

Everyone at the museum said he could spend hours just watching this machine run.

You are so right. And this is exactly why I love your blog. You keep reminding me to be thankful too, even when times are nót easy. There are always things to be thankful for, even when you get to absorbed by difficult things.... So, Thank YOU, for reminding me.

I'm so envious! San Diego is my hometown; here in Iowa we woke up to more snow. I'd rather be wandering in fields of flowers than shoveling snow; but I'll be grateful for the snow because we really need the moisture it provides.

I really enjoy your Thankful blog! I posted a good thought on FB the other day, "The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have!" PS I am also thankful to be so close to San Diego.

awesome post! love the photos too! I agree with a lot of what was said about gratitude happening during the process not just as a result of things going our way... on a totally different note, how big was that working car? It looks really small! and what a great sea lion shot! I am off to google mola mola fish... huh?

Kristi, I love this! And my favourite of those quotes is “instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances, whatever they may be.” Yes! That’s what I was trying to convey in my post. I guess that it’s fine to be thankful for things too, those are probably/possibly the hurricanes I wrote about. But even in the midst of hurt, allowing gratitude eases that. I need constant reminding of that, and sometimes resist it, but I feel it over and over. And I also think we can’t force it, so I do understand what you say at the beginning of your post about not wanting to seem unsympathetic to those who are experiencing sorrows and pain. Great post!

I like the perspective that 'gratitude' can be a state of mind, rather than a reaction to circumstances (usually as your quotes mention…to a positive outcome to specific problem), not that it's overly easy to cultivate this viewpoint, but as long as one is, then it should be for a way of looking at life that is not limited to the Good Times/Bad Times.

San Diego sounds like an excellent place to take trip/getaway to, I will have to add it to my ever-growing list.

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Me in a Nutshell

My best friend, John, and I have been married for more than a quarter-century now. Each of our 5 children is now officially a young adult. Our oldest son brought a daughter-in-law into the family, which delighted us all. We are grandparents to two utterly adorable little girls. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I blog to share my thoughts and ideas, and to remind me to be thankful every day.